The pecan took a hit this Thanksgiving as production dropped 35 percent from last year, and store prices rose 30 percent. Poorly timed rain and drought in the South, hungry pigs and squirrels, and a huge demand for the crop in China, all contributed to the lack of pecan pies on dessert tables this year.

An agreement is still yet to be made on the farm bill after the House and Senate last week. If they fail to work out their differences before the end of the year, farm policy would be legally required to revert back to permanent law, with policy governing dairy going back to the 1949 farm bill. Price supports back then were WAY higher than now , which means the price of milk could rise to $7 per gallon, creating a potential “dairy cliff.”

The makers of Geo-Wiki have created a new smartphone game called Cropland Capture that allows players to be their own scientist by identifying cropland through satellite images. The purpose of the game is to educate players on Earth’s natural vegetation and where humanity grows its food.